The Sioux Center Fire Fighters had a busy day last Thursday responding to several field fires,
The Fire department was called to the report of a field fire in standing corn near 390th Street and Fir Avenue, four miles west of Sioux Center on B40. Fire fighters had the help of at least 13 farmers with disks to fight the fire.
No injuries were reported. The Sioux Center fire department was assisted by the Ireton, Hull, Orange City, Maurice, Hawarden, and Hudson fire departments. Sioux Center Fire Chief Dave Van Holland said the cause of the fire may have possibly been a lit cigarette. Five to ten acres of standing corn and 20 to 30 acres total burned in the blaze.
He says the firefighters who responded were on the scene for about two hours.
The Sioux Center fire department responed to a total of four calls that same day. One of the other calls was a field fire about noon, one mile closer to Sioux Center on the same road. Van Holland said that one may also have been caused by a lit cigarette. The damage at that fire scene was more minimal.
Firefighters from Ireton, Rock Valley, and Hull helped at that fire, and only stubble was damaged.
On Saturday, Sioux Center fire fighters responded to a call of a tractor on fire. A four-wheel-drive tractor suddenly burst into flames as the operator was turning on the end rows. The cause is undetermined, but the tractor was totaled in the blaze.
Van Holland advises people to be very cautious with smoking materials during this warm, dry, and windy time.
